Well that game did not end at all the way any of us thought it would. The Bruins fell to the Buffalo Sabres 4-2 last night, extending Buffalo's win streak to 2 and dropping our record to 23-10-2 (I never thought I would have to write that sentence.)
In an ideal world, the Sabres should not have been able to accomplish what they did last night against a team at the top of the league. But this loss was not for lack of trying on the Bruins part. In reality, the Bruins overwhelmingly out played the Sabres in almost every aspect of the game, except where it counted: in goals. We dominated puck possession, we out skated them, we out muscled them and we out shot them. What it came down to was who could get the puck past the goalie and alas, the Sabres did a better job.
In an ideal world, the Sabres should not have been able to accomplish what they did last night against a team at the top of the league. But this loss was not for lack of trying on the Bruins part. In reality, the Bruins overwhelmingly out played the Sabres in almost every aspect of the game, except where it counted: in goals. We dominated puck possession, we out skated them, we out muscled them and we out shot them. What it came down to was who could get the puck past the goalie and alas, the Sabres did a better job.
Now, you never ever can blame just the goalie for a loss. But Johnson can't be let off the hook either. He overall looked very sluggish. He looked like he had no control over all the rebounds created. This paired with the lengthy amount of time it took him to re-position himself after any shots on goal led to the Sabres ability to score. I noticed a lot that Johnson left one side of the net wide open every time he moved to make a save and could not correct himself quickly enough. However, it is only one game so I'm not ready to start calling for him to be replaced come next season because his record is 6-2, which is still pretty impressive despite the loss being ugly.
And like I said, it's not entirely his fault the goals went in. Our defense was not looking very good last night. There were a lot of turnovers, our defensive pairings had trouble staying together or being where they needed to be and this created holes that allowed the Sabres to drive to the net. This sudden offensive burst is a little strange for the Sabres, considering their goal differential is -37, but it was the Bruins who allowed it happen.
Not that we an use it as an excuse but the officiating last night was absolutely atrocious. They called a meaningless holding penalty on Torey Krug in the first even though he had done absolutely nothing wrong outside of attempting to create a turnover against the boards. The other questionable call was the two minute roughing penalty on Lucic after Weber dropped the gloves and went after him while Lucic kept his gloves on and just stood there. It was pretty pathetic reffing.
Our offense was by far the best part of the night. Now the biggest problem they had was obviously getting past Miller and this was only because they continually fired at his chest and pads. With the amount of pressure we had on Miller and the number of shots we got off, we should have been able to score had it not been for that annoying habit we have of trying to break through a goalie's chest. The two goals we were able to score are a prime example of what happens when we lift the puck. Marchy scored the lone two goals by lifting the puck. Had we continued this trend, the game may have ended differently.
And like I said, it's not entirely his fault the goals went in. Our defense was not looking very good last night. There were a lot of turnovers, our defensive pairings had trouble staying together or being where they needed to be and this created holes that allowed the Sabres to drive to the net. This sudden offensive burst is a little strange for the Sabres, considering their goal differential is -37, but it was the Bruins who allowed it happen.
Not that we an use it as an excuse but the officiating last night was absolutely atrocious. They called a meaningless holding penalty on Torey Krug in the first even though he had done absolutely nothing wrong outside of attempting to create a turnover against the boards. The other questionable call was the two minute roughing penalty on Lucic after Weber dropped the gloves and went after him while Lucic kept his gloves on and just stood there. It was pretty pathetic reffing.
Our offense was by far the best part of the night. Now the biggest problem they had was obviously getting past Miller and this was only because they continually fired at his chest and pads. With the amount of pressure we had on Miller and the number of shots we got off, we should have been able to score had it not been for that annoying habit we have of trying to break through a goalie's chest. The two goals we were able to score are a prime example of what happens when we lift the puck. Marchy scored the lone two goals by lifting the puck. Had we continued this trend, the game may have ended differently.
The biggest positive of last night was obviously Marchy's goals. Now, the goals aren't enough for me to recant my statement that he needs to sit out a few games once the injury list is shortened, but they definitely are proving that our little ball of hate is still in there and might be close to resurfacing permanently in the near future. I mean let's be real, those goals were pretty beautiful last night.
1. Short Handed Goal: Marchy takes a long pass from Boychuk from the boards during a power play and breaks away into a two on one with Bergy and manages to bury the puck under Miller's gloved side for his 6th of the season.
2. Wrist Shot: Also early in the second period Marchy takes a pass from Bergy from the point and buries it up top over Miller's stick side. This was Marchy's 7th of the season.
Another upside was Matt Fraser's fight against Marcus Foligno. This was Fraser's first NHL career fight and although he may have lost, you have to hand it to the guy because Foligno had 20 pounds on him and a good 2 inches. You have to give him credit for the effort and what he was trying to show by fighting.
Overall, it was upsetting to see the Bruins go down to a team at the bottom of the league but these things happen and we have a chance at redemption tomorrow night. As long as we learn from the mistakes we made last night, we should be fine.
Until then,
Keep calm and Bergeron!
1. Short Handed Goal: Marchy takes a long pass from Boychuk from the boards during a power play and breaks away into a two on one with Bergy and manages to bury the puck under Miller's gloved side for his 6th of the season.
2. Wrist Shot: Also early in the second period Marchy takes a pass from Bergy from the point and buries it up top over Miller's stick side. This was Marchy's 7th of the season.
Another upside was Matt Fraser's fight against Marcus Foligno. This was Fraser's first NHL career fight and although he may have lost, you have to hand it to the guy because Foligno had 20 pounds on him and a good 2 inches. You have to give him credit for the effort and what he was trying to show by fighting.
Overall, it was upsetting to see the Bruins go down to a team at the bottom of the league but these things happen and we have a chance at redemption tomorrow night. As long as we learn from the mistakes we made last night, we should be fine.
Until then,
Keep calm and Bergeron!